You might think this carseat would provide great neck support, but no.

She becomes bobble head while snoozing in the car. It’s sad.

Edited to Add: This picture was taken in 2009, while I was still very new at blogging. I plopped my daughter in her carseat for the photo and was most likely in a hurry to snap the picture. The chest clip isn’t high enough, I know. We weren’t going anywhere……it was all for the photo. (I remember, we were just out in the parking lot of our apartment complex at the time.) I should have thought it through better and realized that people would see that chest clip and shriek. But at the time, I was just taking a picture of the project, not even thinking about the chest clip. Sorry if it throws you off a bit…..but yes, we practice safe chest clip placement. :)

Here’s How:

Cut out a horseshoe shape out of paper and make all of the corners curved. I decided to make the part that goes behind the neck a bit more narrow so that it didn’t push my little girl’s neck forward. I drew mine about 10 1/2 inches tall and about 15 inches wide. This size is plenty big for my toddler and I’m sure will work for children of all ages. You might want to increase the dimensions a bit for an adult sized one.

Place on top of any type of fabric and cut out 2 pieces. I used fleece because it’s just so soft.

Sew these two pieces together, right sides together. Make sure to leave an opening a few inches long, to be able to turn it right side out.

Clip the inner curve so that it will lay nicely after you’ve turned it right side out.

Turn right side out and stuff with batting. Hand stitch the opening closed. (Need help with this? Click here.)

Slip around any neck and you’re ready to go.

Caution: might cause drowsiness and extreme comfort if you place around your own neck while driving. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz……….

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I LOVE this!!! we jsut recently went on a 14 hour car drive and my 4 yr old kept falling over into his 1 yr old sister. She would pull his hair and wake him up. It was a night mare. I had to keep pushing him up! I am so making one of these!

Good, I’m so glad you have all found this to be useful. I know I hate when my kiddos bob their heads and it wakes them up. Grrrrr…..

Lacey – That’s funny you say we look alike because everyone has always said she looks like her daddy. So now I love you!!!!! :) (You know every momma wants their little girl to look like them. Hahaha…)

I think this is a great idea, my four year old often falls asleep in the car just while running errands and ends up with his chin resting on his chest. Do you think you could fill this with those polystyrene beads, or would that be terribly expensive?

I think my husband wants me to make him one of these for our upcoming travels! Hmmm…maybe he won't want a pink one? Better go and buy some "masculine" fabric (we have daughters so anything not pink is floral or girly).

I have a knitted pattern, but sewing would be quicker! As for it being too wide behind the neck, I see people using them the other way around, especially if they are 'chin droppers' LOL. Any ideas of what to do with a girl that is a total body bobber (in a booster), and a boy that tilts his head up? LOL.

Hi Ashley, Love the tots travel pillow. Just wondering what is the width on the botton of one of the "legs" and how wide is it at the narrow part that goes behind the child's head? I need to make these for my twin grandaughters. Thx a bunch.

EllaBellaMe – Sorry it took so long to get back to you! I measured the "legs" and they are 5 1/2 inches across and the narrown part behind the neck is 3 1/2 inches across. That is with the 1/4 inch seam allowance so you don't have to add any on to that. Hope that helps!

What a cutie! Thanks for this idea – my daughter refuses to sleep in the car for the same reason. She even stayed awake throughout our recent 13-hour moving journey. This is going to be a life saver on the trips back home!

Hi,
I just found your site.And it is really interesting.I love this pillow design.Coz i used to travel with my little one and was thinking about getting one for her.but now i’m going to make one for her.thanks a lot for the design

I love your blog! You are officially my hero!…lol. I have a 2 year old who becomes a bobble head when she falls asleep in the car and where we live “The Bahamas” there are these older women who I always seem to run into who repeatedly say to me “fix her head…she’s going to hurt herself”. So I made a pillow for her yesterday took me 10 minutes! It worked like a charm! Now my 7 year old daughter wants one and I may as well make one for the baby too when he’s ready for it! Thanks so much for the wonderful idea!!!

Great idea! I’m so making one when my LO is big enough for a booster! I also just wanted to remind you that the chest clip on your daughter’s 5 point harness is just that; a chest clip, not a tummy clip. The top of the clip should be level with her arm pits. Drive safe!

When I took this picture 3 years ago, I just plopped my little girl in her carseat to take the picture. I just hurried, clipped her in, and placed the pillow around her neck. We weren’t actually driving anywhere so I assume I was just hurrying for the photo. I am actually very careful with the chest clip, having 3 kids now, and it’s something that I don’t mess around with. But I do appreciate your concern…….I should have been a little more careful how that looked in the photo. But again, it was 3 years ago. I was still new at all of this blogging stuff too!

Yup, I saw this image on Pinterest and thought holy moly…this is highly unsafe. The chest clip is too low, and the neck pillow is most likely not supposed to be used in the car seat. Also check to see if you can angle your carseat better or let your daughter rear face (she is NOT too big).

When I took this picture 3 years ago, I just plopped my little girl in her carseat to take the picture. I just hurried, clipped her in, and placed the pillow around her neck. We weren’t actually driving anywhere so I assume I was just hurrying for the photo. I am actually very careful with the chest clip, having 3 kids now, and it’s something that I don’t mess around with. But I do appreciate your concern…….I should have been a little more careful how that looked in the photo. But again, it was 3 years ago. So I was still new at all of this blogging stuff too!

Also, my little girl was 2 1/2 years old at the time of this photo and at the time, all of the pediatrician’s and car seat experts said that to sit forward facing, a child needed to be 1 year and 20 pounds. She far exceeded those guidelines at the time.

Agreed! That’s ridiculous that people gave you such a hard time. The way I see it, at least you have your kid in a carseat! Plus, you even mentioned that you just threw her in for a picture. Come on women! Quit correcting other people and go take care of your own children!

Hi! So glad I found your website – love the projects!
Regading the neck pillow – I actually sell these in our online shop – they are made with aromatherapy, calming & healing herbs, Lavnder, Chamomile & more to relieve stress, headaches, body pain & insomnia. We welcome all to visit & shop at http://www.natureshealinggifts.com. I hope it’s ok that I posted this information. After reading all the comments above, I know our Herbal Neck Wraps will be helpful. Thank you.

We have an 18-hour (one way) trip coming up in April to go visit Fiance’s family, and my little girl always has her head at odd angles and I’m always worried that she’s going to hurt her neck. So, I was looking on Google for patterns for travel pillows for toddlers and came across your site. I have the stuff laying around (Yay for being a crafty mommy!) to make this for her. THANK YOU, so much for this! :)

“I drew mine about 10 1/2 inches tall and about 15 inches wide. This size is plenty big for my toddler and I’m sure will work for children of all ages. You might want to increase the dimensions a bit for an adult sized one.”
where is that size came from? i want to know about neck antropometry but its hard to find.